Bolivia: A second factory to process coca leaves

Bolivian President Luis Arce announced on Saturday the construction of a second production plant to process coca leaves, an ancestral plant that the Andean country is seeking to declassify globally as a synonym for cocaine.

«[…] The country, the Bolivian people have shown the whole world that the coca leaf is not cocaine and history has proven us right,” declared Luis Arce.

He gave a speech on the occasion of National Acullico (Coca Chewing) Day, to hundreds of residents gathered in a square in the capital La Paz.

Export processed products

Luis Arce announced the construction of a second factory to produce coca leaf products in the department of La Paz.

The aim is to export the processed products once the country gets the World Health Organization (WHO) to declassify the plant as a controlled substance, a qualification it has held since 1961 as the raw material for the cocaine.

In Bolivia, flour, infusions, sweets and even toothpaste are produced from coca leaves. “Once authorized, we will be able to export our coca leaf throughout the world, and thus show its great virtues,” declared the president.

“We have always fought against drug trafficking”

The latter admitted that coca leaves were used illegally in the production of cocaine. “The government will never support this use of coca leaves. We have always fought against drug trafficking and we will continue to do so,” he promised.

At the same time, in the Cochabamba region, indigenous leader and former president Evo Morales celebrated this national day with his supporters.

“Our continued struggle has allowed the world to value and recognize our ancestral tradition, our identity. Coca is not only a culture, it is Pachamama (mother earth), it is also a medicine and a food,” said Evo Morales on X.

The juice of the leaves relieves hunger

Chewing coca is called “Acullico”, according to the Quechua term. The juice of the leaves relieves hunger and eliminates fatigue.

In 2013, Bolivia, a country with an indigenous majority, joined the international conventions against drugs, provided that the chewing of coca for ancestral and medicinal purposes is authorized on its territory. The coca law authorizes the cultivation of 20,000 hectares for legal national consumption.

However, in its latest report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates the cultivated area at almost 30,000 hectares, meaning that part of the production fuels drug trafficking. Bolivia, after Colombia and Peru, is considered by the UN to be the third largest producer of cocaine in the world.

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